My New Shirt

I found my new favorite T-shirt. I went into Hot Topic to look around and I spied this:


We all know Buffy would've kicked Edward's butt without breaking a sweat, so I knew I had to have it. It's exactly how I feel the books should have ended. No, not books. Book. There should never have been more than one. Everything that happened in the subsequent books could have easily never happened at all. That's my story and I refuse to budge. That's why I'm very adament about not reading any of the other books.

Well, that and I just couldn't get through the first five pages without falling asleep. It was nails on a chalkboard for me. Most "Twilight" fans don't appreciate the shirt, but anti-Twilight folks (like me) think its hilarious.

Percy Jackson & The Olympians

Can I say just how excited I am to see this movie? I think I'm more excited than the next Harry Potter movie! I was already looking forward to it for 2 reasons. The first:

Kevin McKidd. Seriously, I've been drooling over him since I first saw him in Rome, one of my favorite short lived shows. He was on Grey's Anatomy and I watched a few episodes just because he was in them. And I really can't stand that show. Actually, I pretty much despise that and all other hospital dramas. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I hate hospitals to begin with.
The minute I found out he was playing Poseidon I was all about going to see the movie. There's just something about him. I can't quite explain it. Maybe it's the accent.

The 2nd reason I can't wait to see the movie is this:

I finished reading the book this past weekend and I absolutely loved it! It's very rare that a book can suck me in so quick, but it did. I'm already on book 3. When I was younger I loved reading about mythology, so this was right up my alley. I was going to see the movie anyway, and I probably didn't have to read the book to enjoy the movie, but I have a habit of reading a book before watching the movie because the book will be ruined for me if I watch the movie first. Anyways, it's a great read.

What's In a Name

I find it funny. These days we name our children anything that suits us, whether it's Apple, Jennifer, or my own personal favorite, Brynn. We find a name that fits and goes well with the rest, and off we go with their names. We all pick and choose somewhat carefully, sometimes a little more worried about how unique the name is.

I've been watching a lot of TV set in times long ago (none of these shows are entirely accurate and I'm not expecting to watch The Tudors or Rome on the History channel anytime soon) and if it's interesting enough, I pick up some books and do some research. It's a habit of mine that at times winds me up with a lot of books. Basically, I'm full of a lot of information that only comes in handy when I play "Jeopardy". (Even then, I'm still not the most know-it-all player)

Anywhoo, back in the old days, baby names weren't quite so creative. Take Henry VIII's era, most kids were named after other people, usually kings, queens, or any member of the the royal family. There were a lot of Henry, Mary, Elizabeth, Anne, Charles, Edward, and William's running around. And as you can see, when it comes to the royal family, things haven't changed much.


Another example is Ancient Roman days. Most daughters were given their father's last name as a first name (in feminine form, of course). Like Marc Antony, 2 of his daughter's were named Antonia Major (older) and Antonia Minor (younger). I think it'd be more than a little confusing having 2 kids with the same name, like George Foreman's sons all named "George". It just seems a little self-centered to me, but that's just my opinion. Did each kid get their own nickname, like "Toni" or "T"? Just some of the things that go on in my head.

There wasn't any point to this blog, I just find things like that extremely fascinating and that I felt like writing about.

Lists

I love lists. I love making lists. Lists are the foundation of my life. I love getting a fresh lined pink, purple or blue Post It and writing down all the things I need to do in life. When I can find my sticky pads. Little hands tend to take them and hide them because they come in such pretty colors. Or so I'm told.

That being said, I make lists for everything. Literally everything. I just can't help myself. I have a book reading list. It's a list of every book I have that I haven't read yet. I have a TV show DVD list. It's a complete listing of every show I own and if I've watched each season or not. When I go on vacation or a weekend trip, I make a list of everything me and the family will possibly need.

And I enjoy remaking the list to make it prettier. I think it could quite possibly be my own personal OCD. Well, one of my OCD's, anyways.


Yes, I love making lists. But my absolute favorite part of making a list? Crossing off what I've done. I get great joy out of proving that I'm I do do things, even if it might take me a minute or two, or even a day. But I do get some of the important things done.

A Mom's Purse

A mom's purse. I own one. Most mom's I know own one. We all tote them around like they don't weigh as much as a bowling ball at times. It's not that really cute, really tiny purse we used to carry b.k. (before kids).

Or even that not so tiny one we wear out when we're going out without the little ones.

Nope, it's this one:

The one that holds all this:

This is everything I need on a daily basis that I will use at least once. It all fits in this monstrous thing I call my purse. The sad thing is, all of these items combined shouldn't weigh so much, but they do.

Fun Lists

As a single mom, I rarely have time to do much of anything besides working, school and taking care of the house. And with the new job, I work the craziest hours so it's hard to even get normal sleep hours much less time for myself and my reading. There are a few books coming out this year that I'm so looking forward to reading, I've written them down on a list of must-gets and must-reads. I do the same thing with my favorite shows that are coming out on Dvd. Except I don't get to compile that until around May-ish.

Here's my list, in no particular (other than release dates):

Scarlett Fever - Maureen Johnson (Feb 1)

Heist Societ - Ally Carter (Feb. 9)

Dead-Tossed Waves - Carrie Ryan (Mar. 9)

Can't Teach A Old Demon New Tricks - Cara Lockwood (Mar. 30)

Nine Rules To Break When Romancing A Rake - Sarah MacLean (Mar. 30)

The Clearing - Heather Davis (Apr. 12)

The Cinderella Society - Kay Cassidy (Apr. 13)

Runaway - Meg Cabot (Apr. 20)

The Kane Chronicles: The Red Pryamid - Rick Riordan (May 4)

The Demon's Covenant - Sarah Rees Brennan (May 18)

Forgive My Fins - Tara Lyn Childs (Jun. 1)

My Soul to Keep - Rachel Vincent (Jun. 1)

Raised By Wolves - Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Jun.8)

Insatiable - Meg Cabot (Jun. 8)

Only the Good Spy Young - Ally Carter (Jun. 15)

Blue Blood: Keys to the Repository - Melissa De La Cruz (Jun. 29)

And Then I Found Out The Truth - Jennifer Sturman (Jul. 1)

Strange Fate - L.J. Smith (Jul. 6)

Jealousy - Lili Saintcrow (Jul. 29)

Misguided Angel - Melissa De La Cruz (Oct. 5)

These are the books I'm really looking forward to picking up and buying this year. Well, the first half of the year anyway. These are in addition to my growing number of books I have sitting in my house just waiting to be read. Those are the ones that yell at me on a daily basis. But that's another story for another blog. Ah, it's a good year for books.

Life and Other Things Like It

Last year I watched the first season of Life and I absolutely loved it. It's a show about a cop, Charlie Crews, who goes to jail for 12 years for 3 murders he didn't commit. He's finally exonerated and given $50 million for his time in prison and he also goes back to being a cop, all the while secretly investigating the conspiracy behind his jail time. He's got a very zen like attitude for having spent over a decade in a no so nice prison, but he's also filled with a lot of demons he won't let people see very often. Every once in a while there's a glint/glare of what he's really hiding, which is quickly covered up by a smile. And he eats a lot of fruit.

His partner, Dani Reese, is the sassy recovering alcholic/drug addict, that's stuck with him. She is just as broken as he is. She really can't stand him at first, not because he was in jail, but because he annoys her with all his zen qualities and he never speaks like a normal person. "You don't have to understand here to be here." And he talks too much in her much prefered quiet universe .

I should also point out he does eventually grow on her, though Reese would never own up to that. She's given more than one opportunity to further her career and get a new partner. But she doesn't turn him in, rat him out, or trade him in for a new partner, even when asked straight up. Because I think she secretly likes him, just like Crews secretly likes her. And not just in the "hey, we're partners and I don't want to kill you in your sleep" kind of way. Maybe it's the romantic in me, but I wanted them to get together. I'm pretty sure that's where it was headed. I know what I saw in the finale.

The two main characters have such great chemistry, and it reminded me a lot of The X-Files without the sci-fi. Or maybe more like Bones. Either way Crews and Reese totally made the show for me. Crews and Reese are just so broken, they're the only ones who understand just how broken they are. No one else knows or tries to understand. Dani's own boyfriend can't figure out what's wrong with her when she's a mood. Charlie does and he won't pry until she's ready to spill. They miss each other when they're not working together, and they always have each other's backs, no matter what. They play off each other so well and it's never quite the same when one isn't there.

Don't they make an awesome set of partners?

So I finally bought the second season and sat down to watch it this weekend. I loved it even more the first season and I'm so sad that they did cancel it, even though I'm almost a full season late. It seems like any original show full of unique and quirky characters have no chance on television these days.

Case in point, Pushing Daisies. It is probably one of the most unique and refreshing shows I've seen in a very long time. It's also full of bright backdrops that remind me a good Dr. Suess book. It's a show that has death, but it's not anything I can't watch for a few minutes with my kiddo.

Dead Like Me, Firefly, Dollhouse, and Dark Angel are just a few of some of my favorites that barely made it past one season, let alone two. I blame networks for putting them in crappy slots to ensure they'll get no veiwers. If they want a show to do so horrible why even pick it up? But they do think everyone wants to watch reality shows. I'm one of those few people that barely watches reality TV. Frankly, they all bore me because they're the the same show with different people.

I'm just wondering who came up with Daycare Divas? And I personally never really cared about Jon and Kate plus however many kids can appear on TV at the same time. Both Jon and Kate piss me off just the same but for completely different reasons.

Maybe I should just start my own network and my own TV shows, maybe then I can the kind of quality programming I'd like to watch. Then I can make my own show with every character I've ever liked on TV. Ahhhh, to dream big.